Chapter 1

My name is Vivienne Ashwood, and I am the only pure-blooded white wolf in the entire Beast Realm.

According to legend, a white wolf can bear the greatest beastkin warrior of all, the White Wolf King, a child powerful enough to lead the entire realm into a new age.

Because of that, the Beast King had issued an ironclad decree on the day of my birth: whoever I chose as my husband would be the next Beast King.

In my previous life, I chose Kael Drayne, the Beast King's eldest son, full-blooded dragon, the crown jewel of the realm.

What I never imagined was that on the day I gave birth, at my most fragile and vulnerable, the moment I needed my husband's protection most, Kael would stand at my bedside with cold eyes and cut me open with his own hands.

"No!" I screamed.

He didn't even flinch. His face was blank as he yanked our child free and slammed it to the floor.

"You owed Ivy this."

He stood over me, nothing left in his gaze but hatred.

Only then did I understand. All along, his heart had belonged to Ivy, my stepsister, a low-ranking half-blood with no blood relation to me at all.

On the day of our wedding ceremony, Ivy had made a scene, claiming she couldn't bear to watch the man she loved take another woman as his bride. She fled the royal city alone and walked straight into a pack of rogue beastkin. She was never found.

Kael knew, deep down, that it was Ivy's own dramatics that had put her in danger. But he chose to make me pay for it anyway.

He threw my barely-breathing body into a frenzied beast horde and watched as those mindless creatures tore me apart.

It was only after I died that I learned the truth: Ivy had never died at all. The whole thing had been her scheme from the start. After my death, she dressed herself up and walked right back to Kael's side. The two of them lived happily ever after.

But fate wasn't done with me.

I came back, reborn before the wedding, before any of it.

"There's still time. This life, I'm not choosing Kael." The thought rang through me like a battle cry.

I moved immediately, heading straight for the Beast King's hall to dissolve the engagement once and for all.

But on the only path to the hall, I ran straight into Kael and Ivy.

The moment he saw me, something cold and sharp flickered across Kael's face. He pulled Ivy close, right in front of me, and let the threat in his voice land like a blade.

"Vivienne. I'm warning you — behave yourself. Put away that pathetic jealousy of yours. If you dare lay a hand on Ivy, unless you want history to repeat itself."

I felt a small jolt in my chest.

What did he mean by that?

Had he... come back too?

Ivy pressed herself against Kael's side, playing the role she'd been born to play, her voice soft, her eyes wide and wounded. "Kael, don't be too hard on Vivienne. She's the pure-blooded white wolf — she has every right to look down on a low-ranking half-blood like me. As long as I can stay by your side, I'd do anything."

Kael, with all pretense stripped away now that he'd lived this once before, simply kissed Ivy in front of everyone. Then he told her with easy confidence, "Don't worry, baby. Even after I marry Vivienne, I will never abandon you."

The crowd around them stirred.

"How is Kael so sure Vivienne's going to pick him anyway?"

Someone laughed. "Are you serious? Who else is she gonna pick, one of those worthless bastards? In the whole Beast Realm, who's worthy of a pure-blooded white wolf besides prince Kael?"

"Exactly. No matter how high and mighty she acts, she'll end up in his bed sooner or later. She doesn't have a choice."

Laughter rippled through the crowd.

Kael drank it all in, satisfaction gleaming in his eyes. He glanced at Ivy, then looked over at me, his gaze carrying one unmistakable message: You heard them. You have no one else.

Ivy tilted her face up at him, playing sweet. "Kael, everyone's right. My sister's smart. She won't make the wrong choice."

He cupped her face with one hand, his voice dripping with indulgence. "Don't worry. Even if she does marry me, my heart will always belong to you. Once I'm on the throne..."

Another wave of laughter. Someone called out: "Congratulations, prince, throne and beauty in one shot!"

"A white wolf, no matter how proud she is, will still end up bearing the prince's heirs."

Kael smiled and pulled Ivy closer.

I stood a few steps away and watched.

In my previous life, this would have sent me shaking with fury, charging at Ivy, tearing into Kael with questions, making a scene that only gave them more ammunition to call me jealous and unstable, until I finally caved and married him anyway.

Not this life.

I couldn't even be bothered to look at them. I walked around them without a second glance.

"Get out of my way."

The smile froze on Kael's face. He clearly hadn't expected that. He reached for my arm, but I was already gone.